Better Atlanta Transit is a coalition of transit advocates, urban planners, business owners and community activists who support equitable and sustainable transportation for all Atlantans. We inform, organize, and mobilize the Atlanta community to influence decision makers and create a world-class transit system.
External link for Better Atlanta Transit
Atlanta, GA 30307, US
Anyone who has an interest in comprehensive mobility in Atlanta should take a look at this great "backgrounder" by Ken Edelstein.
For a definitive read about Better Atlanta Transit and a more reasoned future for mobility in Atlanta - read this very well documented piece by Ken Edelstein. https://lnkd.in/eShyKQRV
Look at this picture and imagine if this were to happen on the extremely crowded Eastside Atlanta Beltline. It would be catastrophic. The need to reduce derailment risk is one reason why any planned streetcar would only be able to crawl along the corridor. Crossings would have to be few and far between and equipped with expensive automatic gates to prevent pedestrian fatalities. Plus, there would have to be substantial barriers between the rails and path to keep people from getting on the tracks outside of the designated crossings. The glacial speed would render it useless for anyone other than a few bored #tourists. The sparse crossings would be devastating for local businesses, since access would be sharply diminished. Face it: a streetcar would ruin the Beltline, #Atlanta’s best feature. Oslo incident details👉https://lnkd.in/eDsTU5Sr?
Indeed, #bikes look good!
If you want to make efficient use of limited road space, here are your design options: (by NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials))
The City of Atlanta will be revamping its downtown streets in preparation for #FIFA2026. However, this particular aspect could benefit residents and #tourists for years to come: “City Council also passed an amendment Monday that added safety requirements to the project stipulations as part of city goals to reduce pedestrian and #cyclist deaths.” #Atlanta could have a world-leading network for #bikes and other #micromobility. All it takes is the will to build, maintain, and— especially from our perspective— protect it. https://lnkd.in/dUbSaMRT
Better Atlanta Transit reposted this
The sale is on until 1 PM today. There’s still plenty to choose from. Go get some #trees, #Atlanta…and bring your cargo #bike!
“I need a pickup truck to haul #trees for my #garden.” Oh, yeah? 😏 This is the fall tree sale put on by Trees Atlanta at The Carter Center in the US city of #Atlanta. That’s a paw paw tree and Georgia aster on the folding #ebike.
Better Atlanta Transit reposted this
🚲⚡️>🚙+🚌?🤨What’s going on in #Lausanne? #Ebikes are competing not just with #cars, but also #transit: “The e-bike led to the renunciation of an annual public transport pass for a third of respondents, who may continue using public transport, but less regularly. Renunciation of the car concerns 18.6% (44% of car-free households and 12% of households owning a single car). It is not possible to say whether this response indicates renunciation to the ownership or to the purchase of a car.” The authors note that Lausanne “is a low cycling city even though the share of #cycling is quickly growing: it went from 0.8% of all trips in 2010, to 1.6% in 2015 and 4.4% in 2021 (vs 6.2%, 6.8% and 7.8% nationally).” Are you seeing this in your city? Are there urban development conditions that might constrain this competitive effect? Read more👉https://lnkd.in/ei7nWtt5
Go vote, #Atlanta!
A streetcar is not better than a path for those with #mobility impairments.
Something we often hear when we're talking about cycling infrastructure is that it’s ableist. That it only allows the physically fit to use their streets; to the exclusion of everyone else especially the elderly or disabled. It's worth pushing back on that idea on several levels. It's first worth pointing out a car-only transport system is perhaps the most ableist of all. A third of the population does not have the physical or financial means to drive: like children, the elderly, caregivers, people with lower incomes, and those with physical disabilities. No single mode is perfect. And there will be some people that can't or won't cycle. But when cities get the network design and details right, when they build their bike infrastructure in an inclusive and intuitive way, then it suddenly opens up possibilities for almost everybody. The age group that cycles the most in the Netherlands is teens. Almost two-thirds of their journeys are made by bike. The second group that cycles the most is the 65 to 75 demographic. For those people aged out of driving, cycling is a means of continued participation in society. People with disabilities are cycling 16-to-20% of their journeys. Not necessarily on a traditional bike, but on any number of adapted means: an electric tricycle, a hand- or recumbent cycle—there are all kinds of mobility devices that anyone can use if they are available to them. Also, the area between the footpath and roadway, the cycle path, is often a welcoming third space for a wide range of other devices that aren't pedal-powered. It becomes a smooth, wide, safe space that's not on a cluttered sidewalk and isn't mixing with fast-moving motor traffic. Dutch cities show us what’s possible in this regard. They’re not perfect, of course, but we need to challenge the trope that cycle-friendly environments are somehow exclusive or ableist, because the opposite ends up being true: they are empowering. LISTEN to my appearance on the 'Sustainability Bites' podcast with Jack Templeton of Schuttelaar & Partners International: https://lnkd.in/e2KzGpe7
BeltLine Rail Now and its supporters like to compare the Atlanta Beltline streetcar to the tram + trail combo in #Charlotte. The latter has been around for more than a decade, yet the #realestate development around it pales in comparison to that along the eastside Beltline. Why might be causing Charlotte’s rail-with-trail to be lagging #Atlanta’s rail-to-trail in terms of economic impact? Hint: it’s rather hard to climb over it with a #bike. Now imagine what will happen to all of the shops, restaurants, and residential development along the Beltline if a similar fence is built. If a streetcar is installed, a fence will have to be plopped down in order to prevent wandering path users from getting smacked by a speeding streetcar.